By Juan Pedro Tomás
The German federal network agency Bundesnetzagentur said that it has awarded 74 spectrum licenses for 5G campus networks, ten months after the start of the application process.
In a release, the regulator’s president, Jochen Homann, said it has seen increasing interest in the frequencies and continues to expect a high number of applications.
“By awarding spectrum for local 5G networks, we are creating scope for innovation for enterprises. There has been a great amount of interest in the spectrum, and we are anticipating a large number of applications still to come,” Homann said.
The Federal Network Agency provides the spectrum in the range 3.7-3.8 GHz for local networks. Some of the companies able to run campus networks based on 5G frequencies include Audi, Deutsche Messe, Fraunhofer Institut fur Integrierte Schaltungen IIS, Huawei Technologies Duesseldorf, Rohde & Schwarz, ThyssenKrupp and Mercedes. The frequencies are used in particular for Industry 4.0 applications in the fields of manufacturing, agriculture and forestry.
Last week, Fraunhofer IIS has announced the opening of a new 5G test center with two test beds for Industry 4.0 and automotive applications at its sites in Erlangen and Nuremberg.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, conducts research on microelectronic and IT system solutions and services.
The 5G test bed in Nuremberg supports tests focusing on applications for industry and logistics under real conditions using the latest mobile technology in a standalone 5G campus network. The institute said that networked, flexible and production processes can be tested in this campus network.
The 5G Bavaria test bed, which is currently under construction, will be used to test 5G functionalities in a real traffic environment.
Fraunhofer IIS will provide its expertise for research, technology development and evaluation as well as for technical advice.
The 5G Bavaria test center offers simulation methods for companies, from reliable sensor networking to simulation platforms, localization technologies and machine learning.
In May, Ericsson announced the opening of its 5G research network in Aachen, Germany, using its equipment and services.
Spanning a square kilometer of the Melaten campus of RWTH Aachen University, the network connects the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering and the Institute for Industrial Management.
The vendor noted that the facilities are equipped with IT and production systems and offer infrastructure for jointly testing individual 5G applications together with the research partners and developing them earlier than usual.
With bandwidth of 10 Gbps, the institutes can research and test the areas of application of 5G in industrial use in detail.
At the 5G-Industry Campus Europe, the project partners will be investigating different application scenarios in seven sub-projects, from 5G sensors for monitoring and controlling highly complex manufacturing processes to mobile robotics, logistics and multi-site production chains.
The 5G Industry Campus Europe was awarded its first 5G license in March, in the 3.7 GHz-3.8GHz band range.
